A group of women in Fiji go out to sea for long hours to collect edible seaweed that has long been an important component of the island nation’s cuisine, culture, and revenue. However, the seaweed is becoming more scarce, threatening many people’s livelihoods.
Nama, also known as sea grapes, is a kind of seaweed with pearl-like features. Nama boasts significant amounts of vitamins and minerals, according to Nama Fiji, a cosmetic brand that employs marine plants. According to Reuters, it is a staple of the Fijians’ diet and is often eaten soaking in coconut milk.
Climate change is undermining the independence of Zanzibar’s female seaweed producers.
However, increasing global temperatures and increased storm frequency have begun to have an influence on the island’s nama supply. According to Reuters, Fijian fisherwomen are now spending more time seeking for seaweed and getting significantly less of a payoff.
“We’re in trouble,” Sera Baleisasa said. “…Filling a bag takes two to three hours. It used to take one to one and a half hours.”
Karen Vusisa, 52, told Reuters that she can now only gather around half as much nama as she used to and spends significantly more time looking for it. She used to be able to stuff a 44-pound potato bag full of seaweed. She can now only fill a 22-pound bag, resulting in a major decrease in her revenue.
REUTERS
Miliakere Digole, a local lady, told Reuters that she buys nama straight from the fisherwomen before traveling several hours to sell it at a market in Fiji’s capital. A 22-pound bag from the fisherwomen usually costs about $9.13. When the ladies were able to collect bigger bags weighing about 55 pounds, they could sell them for around $18.25. Digole currently earns little more than $40 for reselling a whole 55-pound bag of nama over the course of three to four days. She earns little more than $27 for a 22-pound bag.
Alani Tuivucilevu, a marine scientist and organizer for the nonprofit Women in Fisheries, described the situation as tragic.
“This is their way of life. So, depletion of food supply indicates the deterioration of a way of life “Reuters was informed by her. “…It’s not only the extinction of some species. It is also the deterioration of a certain culture. Not just Fijian culture, but Pacific culture as a whole.”
Tuivucilevu claims that as tropical cyclones become more common, there is “less and less time for these nama supplies to resupply.”
And the storms have an effect on more than simply food and revenue. Tuivucilevu observed that during cyclones, women are compelled to remain at home, where many endure domestic abuse. The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre recorded over 6,800 instances of domestic abuse in 2021. Shamima Ali, the center’s coordinator, told The Fiji Sun earlier this year that around 64% of the country’s women had suffered intimate relationship abuse.
Tuivucilevu told Reuters, “It’s a lengthy sequence of events.”
Baleisasa asked larger countries to include the world’s island nations in their strategies to address the climate catastrophe.
The United Countries issued a gloomy climate change study last year, warning that the world’s island nations are “on the verge of extinction.”
The research warns that the world must attain net zero carbon dioxide emissions and decrease other greenhouse gases as soon as feasible to avoid major sea level rise and even more violent storms, on top of other climate change consequences.
Tuivucilevu said that although adaptation has always been a “driving theme” for Pacific countries, it cannot be sustained.
“We can’t keep adjusting,” she said. “The primary emitters must acknowledge that the impacts are not on them and that we are bearing the brunt of the burden. We must bear the repercussions of their conduct.”